Thechimneychap reviews

1575399677

Daniel Hebert

google

Hello Mr. Hebert, We are very sorry to hear about your experience! Unfortunately, we never heard from you over the 5 month period after multiple attempts to reach you, which led up to small claims court. We also sent you a refund check for your troubles which you refused and sent back. We did try our best to both communicate and rectify the situation. Best of Luck, The Chimney Chap

1575396033

1

There were multiple issues getting my simple cleaning scheduled and performed, followed by several months of issues after the fact due to billing mistakes on their end (they sent me to small claims court without warning for the bill I had paid 5 months prior). The owner herself handled the situation with the absolute worst customer service attitude I have ever experienced. They do not care about the customers and if they make mistakes, they will make every effort to make it your fault and not theirs. With regards to the owner's response below, they tried to prove to me that they tried calling me by sharing their phone records, but there were no calls after the date the payment was processed. They apparently sent some emails to a mis-spelled email address, but there was no certified mail or other very typical attempts to make sure I was even getting their communication. But, as you can see, they are still trying to make this my fault as if I should have been responding to communication attempts they know I never received. Apparently, this is their "best". They sent a check for the cost of the credit check I had to do to make sure their poor service didn't affect me financially, and this was after a long email exchange where they implied they shouldn't need to because they did nothing wrong. It was certainly not a refund check for my "troubles" as they are implying. They've clearly learned nothing.

1643905945

Morgan Tat

google

1

If I could possibly give this company zero stars, I would. First of all, the services associate was 45 minutes late. I am a working professional, so this was highly disruptive to my busy schedule. When he finally did arrive, he told me he had overslept, but it was no big deal because he "owned up" to his wrong doing. He then went to my basement and told me my chimney was unsafe to use. Okay, this is fine. However, he then proceeded to go up to my roof to inspect the chimney further, at which time he attempted to sell me a chimney liner-- why would I need a liner for a chimney that is unsafe to use? When I asked him this, he responded with "oh yeah, I can see what you mean." When the visit was over, he attempted to give me an invoice for $260. There was no work done at all. When I explained this to him, the bill was -magically- lowered to $216. I called the main office to ask for clarification on this amount and was once again told the amount could be -magically- decreased to $156. I also requested a paper statement be sent to me so I could review the specific charges in detail. The statement did not arrive for 30+ days, (due to an incorrect spelling of my email address, which I spelled out, letter by letter at least three times on the phone) at which time, I was charged a $25 late fee. I called the office once more-- Paid the $156 invoice (which included a $7.99 waste disposal fee -- there was NO waste removed from my property) and voiced my discontent once more. I am expecting a phone call from the office manager tomorrow and will update this review accordingly. If this matter is not resolved to some degree, I will be making a formal complaint to the Better Business Bureau. This company is dishonest, sloppy, and an absolute displeasure to work with.

1600548501

Leonard Estabrooks

google

5

Great guys , quick and efficient! A special thanks to Paul Wyman.

1527109742

Brenda Faria

google

5

Chimney Chap performed what they call a "Real Estate Chimney Inspection" before we bought our house. They were extremely thorough and made sure we had everything we needed for our closing. They saved us a lot of money and headaches. They definitely made us and our safety a priority. Once we bought our home we immediately contracted them to rebuild our chimney and install stainless steel lining systems for our chimney. The best way to describe them is excellent. Super professional, super responsive. Will definitely hire again.

1509763559

Jackie Canapino

google

Your review is based on another business, not Chimney Chap. These businesses do not share the same team or employees and is wrongfully posted here. However South Shore Fireplace was gracious enough to share their response with us: I am sorry you feel this way about our business and business practices, however this is a good opportunity for us to respond and provide an accurate account of events. You originally contacted us based upon the recommendation of your contractor who has worked with us before. At that time, yes, we were having issues with our integrated phone lines which is rare but not unheard of. In addition, during the spring and summer season we cut back our hours of operation (which is listed publicly). As far as the pellet insert and available options, we have countless options. Unfortunately, you purchased the insert, received delivery, and then months later wanted a different one when the framing was already built for the one you had selected. The first appointment we had to install the unit had to be rescheduled because all your new hardwood flooring waiting to get installed was sitting across the room and blocking the framing where the pellet insert was to be installed. The second appointment had to be rescheduled because you were having the driveway paved. With both of these situations how are we supposed to wheel, carry, and install a 600lb cast iron insert? Finally, the insert was installed on June 1st, and yes, you are right it was not working, something beyond our control when it is a manufacturers defect. We immediately contacted them however and even had a representative from their company inspect the unit. I would like to make note that this is not common. The manufacturer very rarely sends a representative out but made an exception for us being that the unit was brand new and you very unhappy it was not working. We scheduled an appointment to replace the part and calibrate the insert. In order for the unit to be properly calibrated it has to be running for at least 20 minutes. The unit was working and functioning at that time. The Building Inspector did not pass the inspection because the contractor did not follow the instructions concerning the air space required under the hearth he built. The specs I emailed to you from the manufacturers manual read: The floor of the enclosure must consist of a minimum of 1-1/4 air space and a layer of ½ noncombustible cement board and a layer of tile. The air space must be supported with sheet metal studs and have no combustible material in the air space. The Building Inspector explained this to both you and I at the time of the final inspection. He also recommended we send you a letter stating you would not be able to use it until the contractor corrected this, to free us from any wrongful liability. Now we come to the end where the unit is not working again. I imagine it was not working due to the contractor disconnecting and pulling the unit out as you stated in your review. Once you disconnect the unit entirely it has to be re-calibrated. I am sorry we could not get to you right away, but as explained at that time, the two technicians trained in this field, were attending training courses in another State. Finally, the cost of the permit was $50. We charge more because of our travel time and the time required for the final inspection. As you know, when a final inspection is scheduled, the Inspector does not give a specific time, they give you a 3-4 hour window. We have take this into consideration when charging for a permit. Again, I am sorry for your experience. I can completely empathize with you being a new homeowner how difficult and stressful it is trying to juggle repairs and renovations as I went through it myself. I do however whole heartedly feel your frustrations should have been directed somewhere else. Both myself and the entire staff tried our best to meet all your requests and needs and I am sorry in the end it was not enough.

1513293959

1

Technically this review is for South Shore Fireplace. But since this is the same team and essentially the same company, I thought I would leave this here too... If I could give no stars...or negative stars, I would. This company has some of the worst customer service I have EVER experienced. I am never ever giving them my business and I would advice that you beware. My husband and I just built a brand new house. We went to South Shore Fireplace to get a pellet stove for our new home. First red flag was that they were had to get a hold of. After leaving a few messages we stopped by and were given an odd excuse about them having issues with phones/messages. Then we were told there was no one there who could tell us about the stoves, and I would get a follow up call. We left our info, the size of the house and what we were looking for. I was e-mailed the spec of a pellet stove. I asked if there were other options and was told, no, this was what was recommended for the size of my house. Later, they would complain to my contractor that they didn't understand why I "insisted on this particular stove, it was too big for the house." Well, gee, I don't know...I thought trusting the so-called "experts" was the way to go. Then they gave us the run-around as to when they could deliver/install. There were multiple last minute cancellations for asinine reasons. They also kept complaining about the weight of the stove and why it was so complicated to install. Again, being a company that SELLS these...I would assume this was something they could handle. Any time we tried to complain, the owner's wife would get angry and threaten to keep pushing out our install, completely out of spite. I was stunned at the unprofessional attitude she constantly presented. When then first tried to install it, they put it in crookedly. They told me that's just how it had to be. After a little bit of pressure, they fixed it. It also didn't work, at all. They had to get a representative out from the manufacturer and we ended up having to get a new motherboard for this brand new pellet stove. This pellet stove was getting installed in a built in shelving unit. They sent me an e-mail with the specs needed for the insert which I passed along to my contractor. He followed the specs. SSFP sent out people to review, which they did, and said it was okay. Once they installed it (originally they put it in crooked and told me it couldn't be fixed), the building inspector came out, didn't sign off and said he needed to follow up with them. About 3 WEEKS LATER then send me a letter letting me know it wasn't approved and I can't us it. No other follow up. Apparently it was my problem now. My contractor pulled it back out by himself (weird the heaviness didn't seem to be a issue for our contractor) updated per the building inspector and we finally got it approved. Turned it on...and it doesn't work. Then I called SSFP, again leaving several messages and then going in person and was told they couldn't make it out for another week. Frustrated beyond belief at this point, my husband called the manufacturer of the stove directly and then walked through fixing it over the phone. Turns out SSFP didn't calibrate it correctly. So FINALLY after many months we have a working stove, no thanks to South Shore Fireplace. One last sketchy detail. Our original quote from them was supposed to be an all-in turnkey quote. We had paid in full (even though we didn't have a working stove at this point). They reach back out and tell me that I need to pay for them permit. Turns out they didn't pull a permit prior to installing it. They tried to blame us, that I was supposedly my job to know I needed to pull a permit and to go get one. Then told us the permit costs $200. Funny...we called the town and the permit only costs $25. I know this was a novel of a post, but honestly if the only thing you read is this sentence that's fine because I'm sum it up: This company is AWFUL. Don't use them. EVER!